Spill his gut at just how dangerous he was?
The Norse would incinerate him where he stood if he learned of the darkness Nik housed. With their souls glowing like light bulbs, their mates wouldn’t stand a chance if the horror inside him escaped.
Nik focused on his busted knuckles, watching the skin slowly knit together as his self-healing kicked in. “I’m good.”
A long second of silence passed. Týr nodded. “There’s no time limit to my offer.”
With a wave of his hand, he sent out a surge of heat, drying up the puddles from the ice dripping to the floor, leaving only the busted sandbag as evidence to the near collapse of Nik’s psychic shields.
“On the house.” Týr smirked, then hesitated. “Without my mate, I wouldn’t have found a modicum of peace and probably would have eventually self-destructed. No, the shit doesn’t ever go away. But I find ways to deal with the past now that I have Kira in my life.” With a nod, Týr flashed from the gym.
A mate?
As if the word were a catalyst, the evil inside him rioted in vengeance, a dark fucking reminder of his doomed path. With the blood moon mere hours away, his shields were weakening, no avoiding it. He couldn’t procrastinate any longer. It was time to return to Romania.
Shadow tucked the towel around her damp body and sat on her bed as early morning cast a gray, watery light into her room. Even a shower didn’t soothe the growing pit in her tummy.
She had to find Nik…and say what? Sorry?
Guilt choked her, but more, she had to see that he was okay. Maybe Hedori or Kira would know where he was.
Dressed in a loose, faded pink t-shirt that didn’t chafe her wounds and her short, black and gray plaid skirt, she slipped her feet into her black kicks, thankful to be wearing her own things again. As she walked out of her room, she fastened her damp hair in a loose topknot and made her way to the side stairwell, only to stumble to a halt near the landing.
Nik stood there, head lowered, listening to whatever the Guardian with the long warrior braids said. Then the warrior glanced at her, nodded in greeting, and took the stairs up. Nik continued down.
Did he not see her? A growing panic took hold of her. “Nik, wait—”
He continued without a backward look.
With a burst of speed, she ran down the stairs. Pain wrenched her chest, but she ignored it, caught up with Nik, and grabbed his arm.
“What do you want?” His icy tone froze her.
She hastily dropped her hand, taken aback by his coldness. “I don’t want anything. I just…” Her apology died as her gaze skimmed his closed-off expression. He appeared pale beneath his usually tan skin, lines of exhaustion bracketing his mouth. “Are you okay?”
“You’re worried about me?” he drawled, but there was no amusement in his flat stare.
“Stop it. You came to my room this morning, then you…you kissed me. Now you retreat behind this cold mask?”
“And you couldn’t wait to get away from me fast enough.”
Heat streaked her face. “That’s not true.”
Dark laughter escaped him. He shook his head and continued down.
Dammit. She hurried after him. “Nik—”
“What?” He whipped around, startling her. More so when he backed her against the wall with his big, hard body, his expression feral, eyes glittering like shattered ice. “Or is this what you want?” He nipped her lower lip. “For me to finish what we started this morning? Fuck you against this wall?”
No matter how much he infuriated her, thoughts of his body sliding against hers, moving inside her, and her desire heightened. “Is that meant to scare me?”
“You don’t want to take me on, lígo machitís.” He grasped her nape, lowered his head, and dragged his mouth along her jaw. “You won’t win,” he whispered.
Christ. Shadow shut her eyes, her skin tingling and her heart fluttering like the wings of a hummingbird. She pushed at his chest, struggling to find her composure amidst this dangerous storm that was Nik. “Win? Who said anything about winning? I don’t even like you—”
“Stop,” he growled. “I sense untruths, and I give you a lot of leeway. But don’t try it with this.”
His mouth captured hers in an intense kiss as if trying to unearth the truths she hid. He licked and stroked her mouth, his ball stud piercing sliding against her tongue in a carnal demand. Unable to resist him, she kissed him back. No matter the barriers between them, the man was like her own personal catnip.
One minute she was straining on her toes, reaching up and kissing him, and the next, he picked her up, bracing her against the wall. Instinctively, she wrapped her legs around his hips, and the rigid bar of his cock rubbed against her panty-covered core, tightening her body, scattering the remainder of her lucid thoughts. His sheer masculinity, his hard body, and tempting scent enclosed her. He nipped, then sucked her lower lip before sliding his tongue into her mouth again and hauling her deeper and deeper into a sensual web. He rocked his hips, his erection rubbing against her clit, his big palm squeezing her bottom. Desire blazed like wildfire—when reality slammed into her.
This wasn’t real. He was only proving a point.
God. She tore her mouth free, dragging air into her burning lungs. “Let me go.”
“You don’t know what you do to me, Shadow,” he groaned, eyes like white flames, the rawness in his voice shocking her. “You should walk away because I can’t seem to stay away from you, and I should. I’m not safe to be around for anyone, especially you.”
His words faded her ire. If anyone were dangerous, it would be her. “I don’t understand.”
He shook his head and lowered her to her feet. The shutters came down over his brief flash of emotions. “I’ll be gone for a few days. The other Guardians here will keep you safe.”
Her heart bumped painfully. He was leaving? “No, I don’t want them…” Just you. She barely stopped the truth from spilling free. “I don’t know any of them,” she said instead.
He glanced down the stairs. “There’s something I must do, and you can’t be there.”
No. He couldn’t mean… An excruciating jolt of pain pierced her stomach. She was so stupid. “I see.”
“I doubt you do.”
How hard was it? He wanted women, just not her, because of her demon blood.
Shadow stepped back, struggling to shut off her hurt. Fine, she got the message. She pivoted for the stairs, then spun around. “Did you see Eddi last night? Explain that I’ll see him in a day or so?”
Nik stilled.
God, she hated having to beg for information. But she hadn’t topped the credit on her phone in a long, long while. “Look, forget it. Can I borrow your cell?” She’d check with Darwin, see if he’d given Eddi her message.
Something dark flashed in his pale eyes, and she tensed. “What is…Eddi? Is he hurt?” She’d tended to his many wounds in the past. So that was always a given.
Nik moved closer. “Shadow…” He lifted a hand and gently touched her arm. “About Eddi. He…he’s dead.”
Shadow blinked, his words seeming to come from a distance. But the pain in her chest said otherwise. She shook her head, backing up a step. “No. No. He’s one of the best fighters. He kills demoniis—” Her eyes burned, her heart pumping hard to get oxygen into her lungs. “He taught me. He’s fast—”